For BSN Students - What is your time commitment?

ImThatGuy, BSN, RN · Feb 8, 2011

Lecture time is 15 hours per semester. Thus far clinicals have consisted of nine, eight hour days each semester. Also, thus far, we've gotten out at noon on Fridays. This semester Tues or Thurs is your clinical day depending on your group assignment. The core nursing class is two hours after lunch two times a week, and the other supporting nurse classes like patho, mental health, pharm, gero, health assessment, etc. have been like typical class sizes.

Outside studying time? Not much for me. A few hours a week total maybe? I've had a lot of this before. For others...they act like they don't even have enough time to tie their shoes. Throw any extras on them and it's instant freak out.

I wish we could speed it up a little. It'd be great if some of the ancillary courses were online and/or in the summer so we could punch them out sooner. Having go this summer with nothing going on is going to be lame. I'm ready to move again.

ShannonRN2010, BSN, RN · Feb 8, 2011

I go to class one day a week. This semester is about 16 credit hours with 3 classes.

I spend atleast one full day on homework.

anneuhbanana · Feb 8, 2011

We take 15 credit hrs a semester. We are in class 3 days a week, and the other 2 days we are in clinicals for 6-8hrs. Our first semester we only had clinicals for a few weeks. This semester we have it every week.

Study time...well..a few hours each day? I go somedays not doing much and some days I devote the whole day to catching up.

CuriousMe · Feb 8, 2011

During first year, we're in the classroom 2 days a week for 6-7 hours. Lab for one day, clinical for one day and Sim lab for one day.

In second year, it's only 2 days a week for 4 hours in classroom, 2, eight hour days in clinical and one day in Sim

Senior year, our classroom is online, and we spend 24 hours a week in clinical.

First year, I studied any time I wasn't in class/lab/clinical, sleeping or performing ADL's.

Second year, I studied about 10 - 15 hours a week.

Third year, I'm studying 10 - 15 hours a week, but most of it is for NCLEX prep.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Feb 8, 2011

I'm in an accelerated program, but it's just four semesters with only three or four days between semesters, so that's why it's "accelerated."

Two days clinical, three days classes from the start of the program. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, now, so I would say my first and last semesters have been the most difficult and the middle semesters were much easier, especially my third semester.

For this current semester, I spend about 10 hours a week on my care plan and other writing assignments, three hours a week on our ATI exit exam for each class, and about 10 to 12 hours a week studying course content. I'm shooting for A's (been successful with all A's, except for one class where I missed it by less than 1%), so that's what I need to do to earn them. With an average test having only 60 questions, I can miss only 4 or 5 questions per test to get an A, so the studying I do is paying off.

ETA: Our school is set up in two eight-weeks "mini-semesters", i.e. two classes for eight weeks, then another two classes for eight weeks, so we get a full 16 weeks of material in eight weeks for each class. Don't know if that makes a difference, though.

imapsychrn · Feb 9, 2011

Thanks everyone for the responses!

greatpyr_mom · Feb 9, 2011

My program is super demanding. It's an entry level Master's degree. We are in class 4 days per week and 1 clinical day and that comes out to about 30 hours per week.

But I'm studying 4-5 hours EVERY night during the week and 10 hours each Saturday and Sunday. So that's the grand total 65 hours or so.

I was an "A" student going into this, and so far I'm getting "A"s in nursing school (it's only my first semester though), but the workload is almost impossible to get through it all.

faerygoddess · Feb 13, 2011

Hmm lets see...

1st semester we had Health assmt lab Monday mornings, then I had to prelab at night. Tues I had clinical from 7am to 1pm then Patho from 2 to 5. Wednesday I had Health assmt (theory), Thurs mornings was Sim lab then Pharm right after (another 3 hrs), and Fri's I had Foundations (3hrs). I would study pretty much any time I wasnt in class and on the w/e.

2nd semester I went to class 2 days a week 3 hours each and then we did a Med surg rotation (8hrs) and a Psych rotation (6hrs).

3rd semester was the easiest. 2 classes on Mondays (Ob and Peds) and an online class (Gero). Clincal 2 times a week (Ob 8hrs and Peds 6 hrs) and then on Wednesday nights i had to take Ethics

4th semester I had 2 classes on Monday (3 hrs each), then 2 clinical rotations (Community 6hrs and Critical care/ICU 8hrs) and I had to study ALL THE TIME because Med surg II was awful

5th semester (I am in now). I go to class 1 day a week (3hrs) and clinical 24hrs a week, plus 2 online classes (but one is an optional NCLEX prep course).